Playing With Fire
by missgranger11
Summary: Hermione Granger travels into the past and meets and alluring young Tom Riddle. Will light win or will Hermione fall to temptation? Its a battle of wills, and the weirdest game of seduction ever...
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Original content belongs to J.K. Rowling and her respective publishers. I make no profit – this is for fun : )

xxx

_ Why is it we desire forbidden things the most? _

"No, love, you can't have that."

_Was it a curse everyone lived under? Because for some unreasonable fate, the less available something was the greater allure it held…_

"Please mummy? PLEASE?"

_More often than not, no matter how hard we begged, no matter how hard we tried, the happy ending could never be grasped…_

Growing up with dentists hadn't been easy for Hermione Granger. Especially when it came to sweets. For Hermione's fourth birthday though, her mum had baked an amazing chocolate cake. She had been allowed one small slice after a carefully proportioned supper. Little Hermione had begged and cried for more, but her antics were for naught.

Late that night, long after her parents had gone to bed, she snuck downstairs; her small heart was beating wildly. She flipped on the kitchen lights and tiptoed over the kitchen drawers. Climbing on the counter and hiking her frayed yellow nightdress up with her, she took out the shiniest knife there was.

Young Hermione leaned over to where the cake was sitting out. It was the most beautiful sight the mischievous girl believed she had ever seen. She slid off the cakes cover and smiled as its delicious sugary scent wafted up.

Instead of cutting the cake though, she somehow managed to cut her arm - deeply. Hermione's panicked and pained wails quickly brought her parents running to her. After her mum had bandaged her up, her father took her aside. She remembered her father telling her gently, "Rules are there for a reason. They are there to protect you. Dangerous acts often lead to misfortunate consequences."

He had given her the most important warning she would ever hear: _If you play with fire, you may get burned_. He had told her to always be careful in life, and, with a soft kiss, sent her off to bed.

Hermione hadn't fully understood what he had meant that night until her second year at Hogwarts when she brewed an illegal polyjuice potion. Accidently, she added a cat hair to her portion. Humiliated, she had gone to Madame Pomfrey, whose eyes regarded her warily. It was then she bitterly recalled her father's lesson. If you play with fire, you may get burned.

**Yet no one had ever warned her how alluring fire could be**. No one warned her how beautiful the flames flickered. No one told her how they begged to be touched. It was if they drew her to them, all the while holding her in a deep trance. They whispered promises into her ear. They enveloped her in a seemingly safe embrace.

The coals glittered greedily. They looked so harmless…. She knew though that the hotter the fire was, and the brighter the coals glowed, the worse she could be burned. She knew that the moment she let her guard down she would burn. She knew that no one would save her.

Hermione Granger learned much later in life how true the cliché old saying was. She only wished someone would have warned her how tempting the fire could be.

xxx

Authors Note: Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it – if you can't tell, I'll probably be messing with this story a lot, changing it up and updating it when I can.

Please Review! The more reviews I get the faster I'll update – Plus, this story isn't completely planned out so suggestions might help a LOT

-Miss Granger 11


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing – Harry Potter characters and Property belong to J.K. Rowling and respective publishers

xxx

The order of the Phoenix was losing the final battle. The light side had talented soldiers, but the sheer number of Death Eaters overwhelmed them. Voldemort's cruel laughter resounded throughout the Great Hall as Ginny Weasley fell to the floor, lifeless.

"You are an ignorant child," he told Harry.

The boy who lived was frozen with anger. He was ghastly pale and his fists were clenched tightly. The fighting ceased as attention turned to the Dark Lord and Harry Potter.

"You will pay for that," growled Harry, who now faced Voldemort, his eyes brimming with anger.

The snake like man merely smiled maliciously and the cold glint in his eyes flared. "You will lose Harry Potter."

Harry's eyes narrowed. He raised his wand and bowed in traditional duel fashion. "We shall see."

Voldemort returned the gesture, and took his stance. "Whenever you are ready," he whispered.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry cried.

"Voldemort waved away the spell with his wand, which wavered unusually. "Strange, isn't it? How the brother wands are so temperamental."

"But...what happened to the the elder wand?"

Voldemort sneered. "It's a fable. Nothing more than a child's dream - a mad man's fantasy."

The image of Dumbledore flashed through Harry's mind.

"For a while," Voldemort continued, "I chased it. I desired it the unbeatable wand. But then I had it, and it was just another wand. I went to kill my follower - you remember Severus? - for he had been the one to kill Albus Dumbledore. That's when I realized something. I didn't need it. So I graciously awarded it to my most faithful servant."

"The brother wands won't attack each other..." Harry stared at his opponent, confused.

"I believe they will. I believe I can kill you, Harry Potter, with this wand." He held up the object in front of him. "My wand. Ollivander said repeatedly, 'The wand chooses the owner!' He was right. The bond I have with this wand is stronger than anything else it knows. By chasing the elder wand, I was buying Dumbledore's theory of brotherhood, and loyalty." His face twisted gruesomely. "Well not any more. This is the wand I shall use to kill you, Harry Potter."

"No! It doesn't work like that! Dumbledore told me..."

"Harry!" Hermione's cry interrupted him.

Where did she come from? Harry wondered distantly. He turned where she stood behind him.

"I hate this, but he's right. I've been working on formula's for months. The runes showed a weak bond between brother cores. Strong, perhaps, but not compared to the bond with the wizard."

"No, Dumbledore said..."

"He was wrong about that. He wasn't wrong about you." She set her hand on his shoulder. "It's a fair fight now. You can win this. Ron and I destroyed the last Horcrux." She glanced towards Voldemort who was watching amusedly. "He is mortal now."

"How," asked Harry breathlessly.

She grinned. "The Basilisk."

He blinked. "Brilliant."

Hermione squeezed his hand. "Good luck," she whispered. And as Harry turned back to Voldemort, she faded into the background.

_Hermione turned and fled, her mind turning madly. She had to find Snape!_

"Potter," Voldemort spat viciously. "Crucio!"

Harry dodged out of the way. Members of the order rushed forward to help but were kept back by the Death Eaters.

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!" Voldemort replied, his shield blocking the stun.

Harry growled. "Sectumsempra!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

The bolt of green light jetted forwards, and killed Harry Potter.

xxx

Hermione found Snape in the Shrieking Shack. He was muttering frantically and flipping through books. Quietly she stepped out of the shadows and into the chamber. "Expelliarmus," she silently commanded. Two wands flew to her.

"You," Snape hissed.

"I need to talk to you. Disarming you was simply a precaution."

"Excuse me, Miss Granger," he spat her name, "but I don't have time." He turned back to the parchments.

Hermione glared, and began to reply, but instead gasped. Something was burning in her pocket...the DA coin!

"Flee," she read aloud. The message disappeared, the gold surface morphing to reveal a deeply troubling message. "Harry's dead."

Snape's head snapped up at that. "Potter died?"

Hermione didn't respond. She couldn't. She sank to the floor as Snape returned to the books more frustrated than before.

A minute later she found her voice. "Professor," she said softly. "Why did you kill Dumbledore?"

Snape, who had began packing his things into a black bag, stopped and sighed. "The Dark Lord ordered him to die. I was under oath to protect Draco."

Hermione said nothing, so Snape continued packing. He was using a bag similar to her own; weightless and expanded. He headed towards the door when he had finished, but didn't leave.

"I think Dumbledore was dying," Hermione confessed. "His hand was cursed, and you obviously couldn't heal it. Then the will leaves us the tools to find the remaining Horuruxes." She frowned, perplexed. "I can't be sure, but it seems too coincidental..." She looked up at him. "You loved him. You were loyal to him."

Snape scowled. "Return my wand."

Hermione stood up and handed him his wand, but kept the elder wand. "You don't need this...it doesn't even belong to you. It belonged to Harry, who took it from Draco. And Harry died..." her voice trailed off.

Severus gazed at it. "I disarmed Draco."

Hermione looked at him blankly.

"When you were," he paused, "with Bellatrix. I was cloaked, but I took his wand - he doesn't need anymore blood on his hands. I returned his wand shortly before Harry took it during the escape."

Hermione looked at the wand. "So it does belong to you."

"No," Snape disagreed. "It belongs to you."

Hermione's nose crinkled. "I don't want it."

The potion master stared her a moment. "I believe you need it."

Hermione laughed, though it was half hearted. "Voldemort gave it to you. The wars over. We lost." She closed her eyes, allowing pain to wash over her features. "We lost," she repeated. "Everyone died, but I lived." She turned to him with desperation in her eyes. "Why did I live?"

"Come with me, Miss Granger," he commanded.

Hermione meekly nodded, and followed him out the door.

xxx

The Great Hall was silent. Harry had fallen. It was Kingsley who had noticed first, and then Ron. "Harry!" he yelled, rushing towards his dead friend.

A simple spell from Voldemort sent him spiraling backwards. "Silence!" he shouted, his voice magically magnified. "The war is over." He looked over the hall. "I have won, and it is my wish for no more magical blood to be spilled. You will not be harmed if you cooperate. The magical community shall be greater than ever before. However, if you resist, you will be punished." His eyes flashed towards Ron in the corner. "My forces will retreat, giving you time to collect the dead and heal the injured." An instant later, he vanished, a sick smile on his face.

Ron picked himself up and immediately looked around for Hermione. They would be the first two victims under this new regime. But the more he searched, the more he realized she wasn't to be found. Where did she go? He thought frantically. He was turning around slowly, looking everywhere, when he spotted the DA coin. Luna had fashioned hers into a necklace. Quickly, he pulled his own out and sent Hermione the message. "Flee," he wrote. "Harry's dead." It was harsh, he knew, but hopefully she could escape. Or else she would die - for she would never surrender. That was Hermione. Passionate to the extreme. He put away the coin, and faced the wreckage before him.

xxx

Hermione walked quietly behind Snape, who was heading towards the Forbidden Forrest. She never asked him where they were going, or what the plan was. Because truthfully she didn't care. Voldemort had won, despite everything. She couldn't help but feel that her whole life had been for nothing! All of her sacrifices wasted. And now here she was, blindly following the most powerful Death Eater under Voldemort.

For some curious reason, she was convinced of Snape's loyalty to the Order, and to Dumbledore. In first year he had tried to protect the stone with his life. He had been the only one to see through Quirrel. In second year he had worked like a madman to brew enough potion for the paralyzed students. Third year he put his life on the line to protect her, Harry, and Ron from Lupin in werewolf form. With a sad smile, she remembered his lessons on werewolves. He would probably always dislike the Marauders. In fifth year, he had effectively responded to Harry's message in front of Umbridge. He had sent to them the sword of Gryffindor, his Patronus still a doe. Lily had died so long ago...

Surely, Hermione thought, all that had to count for something. She gazed at the man in front of her, someone filled with purpose ever after they had lost. He was brilliant. He alone had taught her and challenged her more than any other professor. Flitwick and McGonagall had praised her, but for him she had never been good enough.

They stopped walking once in the forest. "Muffalatio," he murmured, along with a few wards to keep them undetected "Miss Granger," he began, "we don't have much time." He took out some stones from his pockets and handed two of them to her. "Hold these." The rest he arranged in a circle on the ground.

"What are we doing?" he asked. The stones were a rare glass, and had runes etched into them.

"Not we. You," he answered, taking out his bag and drawing out a parchment. "There is no more you can do here, whereas my presence can help alleviate whatever comes next. I am sending you back in time."

"To Hogwarts?"

"Yes. Specifically to Tom Riddle's 7th year."

Hermione's eyes widened as she watched her old professor. "That's impossible. Time travel doesn't work like that. I researched it thoroughly my third year, when I was using the time turner. Travel is limited to very small spans of time. The farthest anyone went back was three days, in 1972. Gilbert Auxney almost died..."

Snape held up his hand to cease her rambling. "Enough. I understand your reservations. Dumbledore and I worked on this for a very long time. And its your only option. Please, sit down."

"Sit down? Here?" she asked shakily.

Snape answered with a curt nod. She sat down. "Do you still have the runes on you?"

Hermione nodded.

"Good. Hold one in each hand." After this instruction, he consulted his notes again. When he looked up a few minutes later, there was a sad look in his eye. "It is time. I'm..." he hesitated. "I'm sorry this was necessary. Albus and I had hoped it wouldn't come to taking this chance. But you are the right one for this. You have become a very formidable witch."

Hermione looked down uncomfortably. She had enhanced her powers with dark magic during the war. Once, Harry had even confronted her about it, questioning her intentions. The Dark Arts were unbelievably alluring, giving her skills and knowledge she had yet to dream of obtaining. She persuaded herself she would use the powers for the order. And she had, they had saved her life and others on numerous occasions. Just understanding the opponents powers and learning to construct counters to the curses and poisons had been extremely valuable. Nevertheless, every thing comes at a cost...she had used the Dark Arts for good. But they were not harmless. "What am I to do?"

"I can't say. Good luck Hermione. Just stay still." The potions master began the incantation. "Molt elpreteritus. Condata onus initium. Eo ire itumconfestim. Commoueo!"

Hermione's world began to spin. The last thing she saw was the bleak expression of Severus Snape.

xxx

The grounds of Hogwarts were almost as famous as the school they surrounded. Rolling green hills, the black lake, and the Forbidden Forest were integral to the school in many ways. Looking out of the castle, one would see them and, if in the right state of mind, could be mesmerized by the peaceful beauty. On this night, however, there was a disturbance. A young woman lay; broken.

I can't breathe, the fire won't let me. It scorched Hermione's limbs as they violently shook. Knives slashed her skin repeatedly.

Is this hell?

But surely, she thought, there aren't angels in hell.

The world faded to black as the angel's obsidian eyes met hers.

xxx

AUTHORS NOTE: Thanks for reading : ) I hope you enjoyed it!

Again, please review: more reviews = faster updates. I solemnly swear.

Leave me suggestions! I need help!


End file.
